As I mentioned in my previous post, we are moving. In 3 days.
I’ve avoided moving for the last 6 years, and it’s been so nice. I’m no stranger to changing domiciles–since moving out for college, I’ve changed addresses TWELVE TIMES. And that doesn’t include the time my roommate and I decided to swap floors in our townhouse. 3 of those moves were in the span of 6 months, when we first came to Seattle. Needless to say, I fucking hate moving.
Luckily, this time we have the means to hire a crew to pack, move, and unpack us. It doesn’t mean we can bleed money, however. I’ve learned a few things about the local moving process and thought I should share with you lovely readers.
- Picture boxes for large framed art cost $10 each. If your frames are thick, the box only holds 1 picture. We have about a zillion framed posters and paintings, so this would cost us 1 zillion x $10 = $10 zillion. To move across town.
- Builders paper costs about $12/roll. So if you can move these pictures yourself, wrap them up in this heavy-duty kraft paper, and do the picture shuffle yourself.
Builder’s paper: a must for any family, moving or not. - Wardrobe boxes are also really pricey. If you can live with your clothes just being placed in a box, the savings could be substantial (for us, about $80-150). Luckily, our mover offered up some used boxes he had in his truck for free. So the wedding dress and one formal dress I own can stay on a hanger and relatively unwrinkled for zero dollars.
- Flat screen TV boxes are $150. Just for the styrofoam and cardboard! So keep your boxes, friends. Or move your TV yourself.
- When they say “tips are appreciated, but not required,” it means TIP your crew. They’re handling your lives, so it makes sense to treat the guys well. Also, food and drinks help move things along and keep them energized. This article has some good advice. “…if it’s a half-day (4 hours) move, $10 per person is considered appropriate. If it’s a full-day move (8 hours), then $20 is the consensus.”
- None of the companies I contacted charged extra for a weekend, which is good because we happen to be moving on Father’s Day.
- Get recommendations from friends, but read reviews. Angie’s List and yelp are good sources to pick out reputable movers, and to glean questions you should ask your crew.
- “Clothes can stay in drawers, anything else cannot.” This was the mover’s nice way of saying “pack up your special drawer and take that with you.” Same goes for belts, jewelry, handbags.
- Take valuables and important paperwork with you.
- Don’t go cheap on your frames (ah-hem, Ikea….) because THIS will happen to your walls:
Cheap frame = staining the wall - Keep a bottle of wine and corkscrew available. You’ll need it at the end of the day!
This will probably be the last post until we get internet in the new house. I’m excited to have tons of space and so many projects to do! I guarantee more posts on THOSE as time goes by. Catch you on the flipside!